If the Dodgers don’t make the World Series this year, it won’t be for lack of trying.

General manager Ned Colletti has made more moves than Michael Jackson did in his “Thriller” video.

Colletti has acquired five players since Opening Day and engineered a double whammy Monday, trading for Jim Thome and Jon Garland hours before the deadline.

The Dodgers own the best record in the National League and lead the NL West, but Colletti is thinking about the playoffs. The Dodgers should be better equipped to face a team like Philadelphia.

Is Jim Thome going to play the role of hero in the playoffs? Who knows. But he’s a lovable, high-sock wearing, aww-shucks power hitter who should help the Dodgers in the clubhouse and on the field.

The Dodgers will look to him for his experience and key hits off the bench.

Thome isn’t going to be the Dodgers’ power-hitting first baseman.

He’s not taking over for James Loney, who has hit just nine home runs this season.

And this isn’t the American League with the luxury of a designated hitter. If it were, Manny Ramirez wouldn’t be playing left field.

Joe Torre said using the 39-year-old Thome in the field wasn’t an option. Thome has playoff experience and 23 home runs this season.

He’s hit 564 home runs in his career, so he’s a nice left-handed option off the bench.

Garland probably won’t crack the playoff starting rotation, but he can eat innings and help the Dodgers maintain a comfortable lead in the division. He’s a local boy, having prepped at Kennedy High of Granada Hills, and he still has a home in the Valley.

Apparently, he’s earned rock-star status here, too, because he wouldn’t name the Valley city in which he has a home. His grandfather had Dodgers season tickets, and Garland was 9 years old when he attended Game 1 of the 1988 World Series in which Kirk Gibson homered to win the game. He had chats with Gibson – Arizona’s bench coach – about that home run. But Garland is no longer a Diamondback. Given his boyhood love for the Dodgers, he should fit in just fine.

Garland and Thome join George Sherrill, Vicente Padilla and Ronnie Belliard as Colletti’s five midseason acquisitions.

Colletti’s moves aren’t just window dressing. The Dodgers want to win, and they want to win now.

“Any time you make moves down the stretch it brings new life, especially when they’re guys that are established,” Jeff Weaver said. “We were in need of a couple starters and they went out and got them. They brought in a big bat and someone to help steady the bullpen. I feel like we’ve got the pieces to make this work.”

Garland is just 8-11 this season with a 4.29ERA. He’s felt more comfortable the past two months than first two months. He said he had a sinus infection during his last start in which he threw seven scoreless innings against Houston.

Keep the Sudafed away from Garland.

The Dodgers hope to corral some of the mojo Garland earned while pitching for the Chicago White Sox during the 2005 World Series run.

He’s a two-time 18-game winner. He hasn’t even won half as many games this season, but it’s all about the playoff push now.

And he’ll make his Dodgers debut on Thursday against his former Diamondbacks teammates.

“You know what I like about him?” Torre asked. “He competes. He’s a pitcher who will try to find a way to get you out whether he’s throwing 89 (mph) or 86 or 85. That’s something that really shows up moreso on the pitcher’s mound than a lot of other places.”

Thome was with the White Sox in Minnesota when he learned of his trade to the Dodgers, so he flew to Chicago on Tuesday to pick up his belongings. He’ll fly to Los Angeles and is expected to join the Dodgers today. Already, he and Ramirez – his former teammate in Cleveland – are having fun.

“Manny asked Ol’ Jimmers if I was gonna grow cornrows in Hollywood,” Thome wrote on his Twitter feed, “but I haven’t worked on the farm since I was in high school.”

The Dodgers agreed to let Thome have a day off Tuesday, and why not? It’s not like they really need his bat in September. That move had October written all over it.

Thome has 23 home runs, but then again so does Matt Kemp. Asked if Thome was really necessary, Torre said: “I think we have time to figure that out. If I’m on the other side of the dugout and he comes up to the plate, he’s going to get my attention.”